An Education Intervention in Gastrointestinal Healthcare Workers Improves Knowledge of Sexual and Gender Minority...

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) communities experience barriers in accessing healthcare. While literature exists in remedying SGM-related knowledge deficits in primary care, none exists for gastroenterology specialists.

We detail a two-site experience with a focused education intervention for gastrointestinal healthcare workers on SGM digestive health.

Gastroenterology and hepatology physicians, nurses, trainees, and staff at two academic medical centers participated. A 10-question pre-test and Likert scale questions on confidence in caring for sexual and gender minority patients were given. Participants then attended a lecture about SGM digestive health. After, they completed a post-test and 6-month follow-up assessment. Pre- and post-test averages of correct answers were compared to assess objective knowledge acquisition and identify gaps in knowledge.

Of 368 eligible participants, 143 (39.0%) completed the pre-test, 79 completed the post-test, and 93 completed 6-month follow-up. Pre-test average correct responses were 61%, while post-test correct responses increased to 70% (p < 0.001). At 6-month follow-up, average percent correct was 66% (p = 0.027 compared to pre-test). Confidence caring for SGM patients improved from 3.62 to 3.99. (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree; p = .033). This persisted at 6 months (average 4.07, p = .007).

A lecture-based intervention results in significant and sustained improvement in confidence and knowledge surrounding digestive healthcare in SGM patients. This can be used as a starting point for curricular development at all medical education levels. Doing so may allow for more culturally inclusive care to be provided to SGM communities and foster cultural humility.